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Daily News Digest – April 3, 2018

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Good morning! GIFs today are themed on NBC’s superb performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. Don’t read too much into them, I just liked the show. Here’s your Daily News.

1. Lawmaker, lobbyist arrested in alleged bribery scheme.

Pretty big, pretty shocking: State Rep. Jack Williams andMarty Conners, a lobbyist who was ALGOP chairman 15 years ago, have been charged by federal prosecutors in an alleged State House bribery scheme.

G. Ford Gilbert, a California-based medical executive, was also arrested.

Williams is accused of knowing about Hammon’s interest in the clinic and helping the bill along in the legislative process.

Here’s the thing: the bill in question never passed. It didn’t really come close to passing. So, prosecutors are saying that calling a public hearing on the bill was “official action” enough to charge Williams on honest services fraud.

Clearly proud of their numbers and wanting to make a splash, Marshall’s team got their fundraising report out early. The other candidates – Alice Martin, Troy King and Chess Bedsole – should report on the regular timeline, so we should know more about their numbers within 24 hours.

4. Young Farm Leaders make a splash in DC.

Young leaders from the Alabama Farmers Federationtravelled to Washington, D.C. recently for a whirlwind of visits with key leaders, including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and every member of Alabama’s Congressional Delegation.

I can tell you that going 9-for-9 with the Alabama delegation IN ONE DAY is not an easy feat. Throw in the EPA Administrator, plus officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative, and that’s really an impressive DC visit.

The Agricultural Leaders For Alabama program is a two-year leadership and training initiative for 25-45 year-old farmers from across the state.

Check out some cool photos from their visit along with some quotes from those who hosted the group HERE.

Also, I’m entertaining guesses as to what joke Sen. Shelby is telling in the above pic.

5. News briefs.

Moving on from their Tide Pod fetish, the kids are apparently doing something called the “condom snorting challenge” in which they… well, I’m not going to type any more words about this but here’s the story.

Pretty big news for ‘cord cutters’ or those who are considering it: ESPN is planning a live streaming service. Sounds pretty cheap, too. Read more from USA Today.

A prescient lesson from Indiana: bitter GOP primary battles have Republican officials worried about their general election prospects. Read more from The New York Times.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice are pretty serious about federal immigration judges clearing their case load. DOJ will soon start requiring judges to clear as many as 700 cases a year, according to The Wall Street Journal.